What is power zone training?
Its often measured in watts.
(TheBikeestimates your power;the Bike+ has a true power meter.
Both work just fine for everything Im discussing today.)
Power zones are personalized to youin a minute well talk about howand there are seven zones.
Higher output numbers fall into higher zones.
To be totally clear, power zones arenothing to do with heart rate zones.
Well talk about the difference a little bit later.
Why are power zone rides special?
I like power zone rides because I know what kind of training effect to expect from them.
In short, other rides are great for having fun or for letting yourself be surprised.
Power zone rides are fortraining.
What is a power zone ride like?
When you want to do a power zone ride, your first job is to decide which kind.
These tend to be pretty hard workouts, but theyre usually nottoointense.
Your effort will be moderate but steady.
All power zone rides start with a warmup that is usually between 10 and 13 minutes.
Your exact zone doesnt matter here.
In between the spin-ups, youll pedal in zone 1 to recover.
A build with 30 to 90 seconds in each of the zones youll be using in the workout.
For a PZE that might be 90 seconds in zone 2 and 90 seconds in zone 3.
A short recovery (usually 1 minute) of zone 1 pedaling before the main workout begins.
During the warmup, they will usually explain the structure of the workout to come.
The plan will show you what zone each interval is in, and how many minutes youll spend there.
This is pretty typical for a PZE class.
(Go ahead and take the class anyway, though.
During the build, the instructor will explain what each zone should feel like.
you’ve got the option to do your first ride or two by feel.)
The power zone bar is a color-coded line at the bottom of your screen underneath your output.
I highly recommend doing this.
With the power zone bar enabled, its easy to do that.
Its in your profile, under Preferences.
At the bottom of the screen, find the FTP section, and tap calculate custom value.
you could drop your FTP number there.
For the rest of us, though, youll want to take an FTP test.
Well, you might notwantto, but you kind of need to, to calibrate everything properly.
There are specific Peloton rides that are designed to measure your FTP.
After you do one, youll get a prompt asking if youd like to revamp your FTP in controls.
(Say yes.)
The FTP test takes 20 minutes, but I like to budget an hour.
(Pro tip: Have someone bring you a fresh, cold bottle of water when you finish.)
Ive taken a few FTP tests.
Im serious, turn on your bike right this second and get it over with.
it’s possible for you to read the rest of this article when youre done.
Do an FTP warmup ride.
Some are 10 minutes, some are 15.
I find that longer is better; sometimes Ill do a 10 minute warmup twice.
Pick your favorite, most encouraging instructor for the warmup.
It does not matter who the instructor is; youll barely notice them.
Mute the screen and play your own music if the music matters to you.
Start at a strong, steady pace, something youre confident you could keep up for 20+ minutes.
Anytime you feel like you cant possibly continue, slow down a littlebut do not stop.
Do it all over again?
If you dont like the number you get, you might retest in a couple weeks.
But you wont know what number that is until the end.
you could absolutely do this.
Whatever minute youre in, dont focus on how many minutes there are left.
Just focus on making it throughthisminute.
Before you know it, youll be in your final sprint to the finish.
By the way: Its recommended to take a new FTP test every 4 to 6 weeks.
Now, you could still wear a heart rate monitor.
Youre just not using it to guide your workout.
If youre moving into power zone 5, your bike will be at zone 5 immediately.
Your heart might take 30 seconds to catch up.
Dont ever worry if your heart rate zones and power zones arent matched, OK?
What kind of power zone workouts should I do?
When choosing your own workouts, thePower Zone Tool from homefitnessbuddy.comis incredibly useful.
The higher the TSS, the harder the workout will be to recover from.
